Senior Researcher and Principal Researcher (Multiple positions) - Excel Agent Team

Excel is the world's leading platform for working with data.From finance and science to operations and marketing, customers use Excel to drive decisions that shape products, policies, and performance atglobalscale. Agent Mode in Excel takes that value further by enabling an intelligent spreadsheet agent that can plan, reason, iterate, andvalidateoutcomes directly in a workbook, building refreshable, auditable results across tables, formulas, pivot tables, charts, and more.

We're seeking researchers working on Generative AI to join our team in Redmond and help us invent and ship the next wave of agentic AI for productivity. You'll work at the intersection of LLMs, AI agents, evaluation, and human-agent interaction, turning your research contributions into experiences used by millions of Excel customers.

Learn more:

• Building Agent Mode in Excel
• Vibe working: Introducing Agent Mode and Office Agent
• PROSE - Microsoft Research: Publications

Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

As a Researcher, you will have the opportunity to:

• Design and carry out innovative AI research in collaboration with other researchers, engineers, and PMs.
• Work with engineers and PMs to deploy your research to customers.
• Publish in top-tier academic venues and interact with the broader academic community.

Other

• Embody ourCultureandValues

Required Qualifications:

• Doctorate in relevant field OR Master's Degree in relevant field AND 3+ years related research experience OR Bachelor's Degree in relevant field AND 4+ years related research experience OR equivalent experience.

Other Requirements:

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:

• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Doctorate in relevant field AND 3+ years related research experience OR Master's Degree in relevant field AND 4+ years related research experience OR Bachelor's Degree in relevant field AND 6+ years related research experience OR equivalent experience.
• 5+ publications in top-tier machine learning, programming language, software engineering, human-computer interactions or relevant venues (e.g. AAAI, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, EMNLP, NAACL, ACL, POPL, PLDI, OOPSLA, ICSE, FSE, CHI, UIST, and comparable).
• Ability to develop an original research agenda,demonstratedby leading at least one publication ina top-tier machine learning, programming language, software engineering, HCI or relevant venue.
• 5+ years of prior research experience in machine learning, programming language, software engineering, or human-computer interaction.
• Experience publishing academic papers as a lead author or essential contributor.
• Experience working with large language models.
• Experiencetraining transformer-based models, including data collection and curation, for research projects in both industrial and academic settings.
• Experience designing and implementing AI systems or production-grade systems at scale.
• Proficient in building interactive AI systems.
• Interestedin applying machine learning to spreadsheet tasks.

Research Sciences IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $158,400 - $258,000 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

Research Sciences IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.